Freelance Journalism: Getting down to business

Posted By Crystal Beasley on Monday June 18, 2018

Flexibility. Working remotely. Being your own boss. Freelance writing offers many benefits, but it requires a business mindset. On SABEW’s next training session, we’ll talk about how to run your freelance business like a true business, addressing things like keeping track of clients, growing revenue, managing invoices, setting up a home office and adopting an entrepreneurial mindset needed to be a successful independent journalist.

Ellen Chang is a contributing financial writer for U.S. News & World Report. She is a freelance journalist who is based in Houston and writes articles for Hart Energy and other publications. For the past five years, she covered personal finance, retirement, stocks and the energy sector for TheStreet. Chang focuses her articles on stocks, entrepreneurs, personal finance, energy and cybersecurity. Her byline has appeared in national business publications, including CBS News, Yahoo Finance and MSN Money. Twitter: @EllenYChang

Panelists

Lyz Lenz has been published in the New York Times, Buzzfeed, Washington Post, The Guardian, ESPN, Marie Claire, Mashable, Salon, and more. Her book “Belabored: Tales of Myth, Medicine, and Motherhood” is forthcoming from Norton. She also has an essay in the anthology “Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture,” edited by Roxane Gay. Lenz holds an MFA in creative writing from Lesley University and is the managing editor at The Rumpus. Twitter: @lyzl

Michelle Rafter is a Portland, Ore., freelance business journalist covering the future of work, business, tech and transportation for business and consumer publications. She’s a frequent contributor to Workforce.com, Talent Economy, Trucks.com, Best Lawyers and the San Diego Union Tribune. Her bylines have appeared in the AARP, Wall Street Journal, OC Register, MNS Money, NBCNews.com, and many others. She ghostwrites about management and leadership for such clients as The Boston Consulting Group, Great Place to Work and the Bloom Group. Twitter: @MichelleRafter

John Wasik is a writer, journalist, speaker, message architect and author of 17 books, including Lightning Strikes: Timeless Lessons in Creativity from the Life and Work of Nikola Tesla. Twitter: @johnwasik